Broadway Review-----ONCE

In 1996, a small Irish film called ONCE opened in America and was a sensation. The story of two musicians who meet in Dublin and change each other's lives hit a chord in the United States and both the film and the soundtrack became big hits. In the winter of 2011, a new stage musical based on the film began an Off-Broadway run to great critical and audience acclaim. After selling out all of it's performances, the next step was Broadway. ONCE opened last month to even greater acclaim and this afternoon I was humbled to be part of an SRO audience that was completely captivated by this game changer in musical theater. A cast of incredible singers/musicians act as their own orchestra led by Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti as Boy and Girl. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, who not only played Boy and Girl in the film but also wrote the Oscar winning score, have written additional material for the show, and Enda Walsh has written a gorgeous script. The choreography (noted as Movement in the Playbill) is by Steven Hoggett and is one of the finest examples of the perfect blend of movement with music that I've ever seen. The show begins with one hell of a pre-show. The main set for the show is a Dublin Pub. And before the show begins, the audience is invited on stage to drink pints and mingle while the actor/musicians entertain them with twenty minutes of incredible music. And then the show begins with Boy singing a beautiful plaintive song of longing as Girl slowly makes her way down the theater aisle already enthralled with both the Boy and his music. ONCE has raised the bar for musical theater. Any perception I have ever had of what musical theater can be and can achieve has been changed by ONCE. It's subtle beauty and exquisite score sets a new high standard not only for Broadway, but for the art form in general. It is something that you rarely hear anything described as.....perfect. There is not one thing that I would change about thie exhilarating and moving piece of theater. You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful and haunting song on Broadway right now than FALLING SLOWLY, which won the Academy Award for Best Song. Mr Kazee and Ms Milioti deliver that song twice in the show and there wasn't a dry eye in my audience either time, with audible sobs during it's final reprise. The competition for the Tony Award for Best Score and Best Musical is over as far as I'm concerned. ONCE is an important piece which I believe will mark a turning point in musical theater. There's no exaggerating when I say that it is quite simply an extraordinary experience.